German terms commonly used in English
Words in this category will be recognized by most English speakers and are commonly used in English. A few, such as delicatessen and hinterland, are often used without awareness that that are originally German. It should be noted that some words in this list (hamburger, kindergarten) are more common than others (ersatz, wanderlust).
Food and drink
Beergarden (German spelling: Biergarten)
Bratwurst
Delicatessen (German spelling: Delikatessen; abbv. deli)
Frankfurter
Hamburger
Kraut
Lager (beer)
Muesli (German spelling: M�sli)
Pils, Pilsner, Pilsener
Pretzel (German spelling: Brezel)
Pumpernickel
Punch (German spelling: Punsch; several fruit juices, possibly with alcohol)
Sauerkraut
Schnapps (German spelling: Schnaps)
Schnitzel
Spritzer
Strudel
Wiener (abbreviated from Wiener W�rstchen)
Wurst
Zwieback
Sports and recreation
Abseil (German spelling: abseilen, a verb)
Foosball (German spelling: Fußball, which refers to the game called soccer in the United States) - in English, foosball refers to the tabletop soccer games found in bars and pubs, which are called Tischfußball or Kicker in German.
Rucksack (more commonly called a backpack in English)
Zugzwang
Zwischenzug
Other aspects of everyday life
Angst (though the meaning is much more specific in English.)
Dachshund (a word that Germans rarely use; they say 'Dackel')
Doberman pinscher (German spelling: Dobermannpinscher)
Doppelganger (German spelling: Doppelg�nger)
Ersatz, "substitute", derogatory
Feinschmecker (gourmet)
Fest
Flak (Flugabwehrkanone ), in the figurative sense: "drawing flak" = being criticized
Hinterland
Gesundheit (in US English, only used as an exclamation used after somebody has sneezed)
J�gers (German spelling: J�ger for singular and plural)
Kaffeeklatsch - coffee culture (literally: coffee gossip)
Kaput (German spelling: kaputt)
Kindergarten
Kitsch (also used in Yiddish, but derivative of German)
Kraut, generally as a derogatory word for a German person.
mishmash (German spelling: Mischmasch)
-meister (primarily satirical usage)
Oktoberfest
Poltergeist
Schadenfreude
Spitz
Verboten
Verklemmt
Volkswagen (proper name in English; pronounced folksvagon, people's car)
Wanderlust, the yearning to travel
Wunderkind, "wonder child", a prodigy
Zeppelin, type of airship named after its inventor
German terms commonly used in academic contexts in English
German terms frequently appear in several academic disciplines in English, notably in history, psychology, philosophy, music and the physical sciences. Non-specialists in a given field may or may not be familiar with a given German term.
General academic language
Architecture
Music
Biedermeier, era in early 19th century Vienna
Glockenspiel, a percussion instrument
Heldentenor, "heroic tenor"
Hammerklavier, "hammer-keyboard", an archaic term for piano or the name of a specific kind of
piano
Kapellmeister, "music director"
Leitmotif (German spelling: Leitmotiv)
Lied (pronounced "leet"), "song"; specifically in English, "art song"
Lieder ohne Worte, "songs without words"
Minnesinger (German spelling: 'Minnes�nger')
Rosenkavalier, "cavalier of the rose", an opera by Richard Strauss
Sprechgesang, form of musical delivery between speech and singing
Sturm und Drang, "storm and stress", a brief esthetic movement during the Classical period
Urtext, "original text (of the composer)"
Philosophy
Gott ist tot!, a popular phrase from Nietzsche; more commonly rendered "God is dead!" in English.
�bermensch, also from Nietzsche; the mythic Superman or Overman
Weltanschauung, Worldview or View of the world
Weltschmerz, World-weariness, angst; despair with the World (often used ironically in German)
Wille zur Macht, a central concept of Nietzsche's philosophy; it means "the Will to Power."
Physical sciences
Aufbau principle (physical chemistry)
Bauplan = body plan of animals
Bremsstrahlung
Gedanken experiment (German spelling: Gedankenexperiment; more commonly referred to as a "thought experiment" in English.)
Gerade and its opposite ungerade (quantum mechanics)
Lagerst�tten
Mischmetall
Spiegeleisen
Umpolung (organic chemistry)
vierbein, and variations such as vielbein
Psychology
Gestalt (psychology; much narrower meaning than in German.)
Zeitgeber (lit. tide-giver; something that resets the circadian clock produced by the SCN.)
[edit]
Academic culture
Festschrift, book prepared by colleagues to honor a scholar
Privatdozent
German terms mostly used for literary effect
There are a few terms which are recognised by many English speakers but are usually only used to deliberately evoke a German context:
Achtung
Frau and Fr�ulein
F�hrer (umlaut is usually dropped in English) — always used in (American) English to denote Hitler or to connote a Fascistic leader — never used, as is possible in German, simply and unironically to denote a (non-Fascist) leader, i.e. Bergf�hrer just means Mountain Guide
H�nde hoch — "hands up"
Herr — evokes German context; but used with military titles ("Herr Oberst"), immediately connotes Nazi era to (American) English listeners.
Lederhosen (Singular Lederhose in German denotes one pair of leathery trousers. The original Bavarian word is Lederhosn, which is both singular and plural.)
Meister — used as a suffix to mean expert, or master
Nein, "no"
Reich — to (American) English speakers, "Reich" does not denote its literal meaning, "empire", but strongly connotes Naziism and is often used to suggest Fascism or authoritarianism, e.g., "Herr Reichsminister" used as a title for a disliked politician.
Jawohl
Schnell! — Fast!
Kommandant — officer or person in command, especially of a military camp or U-Boat. (Applies regardless of military rank, in distinction to the English "commander".)
German terms rarely used in English
This is the unsorted, original list. If a term is common in a particular academic discipline, and there is no more commonly used English equivalent, then please move it to the list above.
Autobahn
Fahrvergnugen (German spelling: Fahrvergn�gen, literally pleasure of driving. Caused widespread puzzlement in America when used in a Volkswagen advertising campaign. Actually, a German native speaker would prefer "Fahrspa�" because of the easier pronunciation.)
Gem�tlichkeit
G�tterd�mmerung, downfall of the once mighty (literally: Twilight of the Gods)
Katzenjammer
Kinderfeindlichkeit
Kobold
Kursaal
Luftmensch
Putzfrau
Schmutz
Sexualpolitik
... �ber Alles (originally "Deutschland �ber Alles"; now used by extension in other cases, as in the Dead Kennedys song "California �ber Alles")
Ur- (as a prefix to mean "proto-")
Waldsterben
Weltpolitik
Zweihander (German spelling: Zweih�nder)